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Headley getting back in swing of things

5/29/13: Chase Headley launches a solo home run to the second deck in left off Joe Saunders to give the Padres a 1-0 lead in the first

By Corey Brock and Jamal Collier
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MLB.com |

SAN DIEGO -- The hits are coming. Chase Headley is certain of that.

"It's really close," he said Thursday.

The hint for Headley to know this is based on how his swing feels. And despite hitting .178 in his last 10 games before Thursday's game against the Mariners, he's generally having better swings at the plate, he said.

"I had a week where I didn't feel great about it," Headley said of his swing. "But both games in Seattle and a couple in Arizona, I felt like I was swinging pretty well. I just wasn't getting the results."

Headley, who has gone 12 games without a multi-hit game, had a home run in Wednesday's 2-1 victory over the Mariners, a sign for him that he's getting very close to finding the kind of consistency with his swing he essentially had the entire second half of last season.

Headley entered Thursday hitting .259, the lowest point it's been since he was 11 games into the season. Headley missed the first 14 games of the season after fracturing the tip of his left thumb while sliding in a Spring Training game.

"I was jumpy, especially from the left side, trying to go get the ball," Headley said. "I just didn't have the feel I wanted. But really, the last couple of series, I've been happier with my swings."

The home run on Wednesday snapped streak of 15 games and 55 at-bats without one, before he connected for a solo shot against Seattle's Joe Saunders.

Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. Keep track of @FollowThePadres on Twitter. Jamal Collier is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.